Preventative maintence for long European ride

I've purchased a 2002 Swing with 21000 miles and will be putting on another 3000+ miles over a one month period. I purchased the bike in Ireland, site unseen, but it had just been serviced and my local contact inspected and rode it and says it looks to be in great shape- good tyres, battery etc.
I have a mechanic who will get it prepped, but his experience is with cycles.
Besides the rollers and drive belt, is there anything else I need to make sure he is aware of? What kind of spare parts lists should I carry (extra drive belt)? I assumed that if (when ) I run into service issues, I will be able to find a local Honda in Ireland, The UK or France. But as I read the site, it sounds like many local shops may not be familiar with the SWING. So I am looking for advice on what to make sure my mechanic does, how readily available will service be and what spare parts should I take.

An oil drain cap because they break easily if over tightening the sand cast cap.

Plenty of Honda dealers in the UK. Take a ride north to Belfast and visit Belfast Honda, easy journey. I'm aware that Swings are very popular in continental Europe so I reckon you will be fine.

I lived in Europe for 20 years---rode a lot, to include North Cap---Honda SilverWing---extra drive belt and rollers,shop manual, build tool kit to cover at least getting both wheels off.

Just ride---Hondas do not break often---they like fresh oil.

John, could I PM you to chat about you riding your Silver Wing to the North Cape? It's something I feel I may like to do.

Hmmm...3000 miles. That's roughly the distance from Omaha to San Francisco and back. Or from Atlantic City, NJ to Pacific City, OR. Not an extremely demanding or long distance for a Silverwing.

Fresh oil & filter (or at least confirm that it's just been done), carry an extra 'quart' of oil (.5L MSR bottle), check the coolant level, bring along a new belt (buy it here, it's much cheaper), a spare tail light bulb, tire plug kit and a CO2 cartridge bicycle tire air gun, maybe extra fuses or spare spark plugs if you are really anxious. As has been said before it's a Honda, and pretty much bullet proof. Don't bother with the rollers --unless you ride like Mr Grinsel. HTH

Tim

trip to North Cap----not hard, some dirt and mud in spring melt----carried own food, cold wet did it on XBR Honda 500S. Fun. Always found gas, scooter might carry spare gas can.

Norway not cheap---some options on return, I went into Finland, but got back into Sweden for final return to Germany.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

bring along a new belt (buy it here, it's much cheaper)

Do you know that for certain or are you just assuming it, I looked at a couple of random suppliers here in the UK, and I can just as easy check prices of online suppliers in European countries.

David Silver Spares UK £99.00 and David Silver Spares in the US $168.80, that's about the same price on both sides of the Atlantic for a genuine Honda belt.

Wemoto in the UK quote £69.88, and sent to the US $118.79 plus postage. Whether that's a Honda belt or pattern I've no idea but we get the belt $4 cheaper than you can.

If I was in the US and preparing for a European ride I'd be more concerned about route planning and accommodation, learning a few phrases of French, German, Italian etc, sorting out comprehensive motorcycle, travel, and medical insurance for the trip than packing junk I'll never need.

I don't suppose you'll advise the OP that it's mandatory to carry a spare bulb kit and a first aid kit on a motorcycle in many EU countries either.

Is it compulsery in France, and other EU countries, to carry the breathaliser kit on bikes Meldrew.?   

As far as I'm aware France is the only mainland EU country that requires you to carry a breathalyser kit or face an on the the spot fine if you're stopped and can't produce one. I've got one in the glovebox of my Smart from our driving trip to France last year.

One item that was useful driving in France was the at a glance kph to mph speed limit sticker that I moved from the Airflow to the windscreen of the Smart.

You must carry a breathalyzer kit?
What's next? A DNA sperm kit test , so you don't pollinate all those wonderful young French things with inbred English DNA?    :lol!:

I think (repeat - THINK) that the French have dropped the breathalyser requirement. Do check.

If is IS still in force, you should carry at least two. Why? Because if you use the one that you MUST carry, you now have NONE!!

The OP asked for suggestions about pre-trip service and what spares might be appropriate to carry. So I responded to that inquiry.

If he had asked about route planning, accommodations and the nuances of EU laws I would not have replied.

Tim

It was the compulsory hi-vis gear for bikers that was dropped, the lot that were going to make it compulsory lost the last French General Election.

I have the Alcosense NF breathalyser kit which according to the box is a 'French legal requirement from July 2012, 'NF approved for use in France', and 'As used by French Police'.

There's 2 NF approved disposable breathalysers in the kit and a minimum of 2 are recommended to be carried in your car at any time while in France. It's designed to alert you to lower French drink drive limit of 0.5g/l Blood Alcohol Content (0.25mg/l Breath Alcohol Content)

Whether you use them to tell when the alcohol's cleared your system before driving, or let Pascal the Gendarme use one on you if you're stopped for a check or involved in an accident isn't that clear.

Neither is the reason why women carry a clean pair of knickers in their handbags!   

I looked up the Breath-Test kit business:

http://www.connexionfrance.com/Breath-test-fines-14520-view-article.html

Frankly, the kits are so cheap and small it's easy to carry one to be on the safe side.   

IMHO you need to do ALL maintenance called for in the Honda Service Manual as your SWing is over 10 years old and you don't know what really has been done or when. I have puchased two SWings with low mileage and the fluids were generally very dirty. Best to start off with fresh piece of mind.

thanks for the tips. Meldrew, I'm riding with my brother who is doing all the hard planning- routes, where to stay etc. My only part is to make sure I keep my scooter wheels down, and try not to break down. regarding he Breathalyzer, it sounds like you are "required to carry one" but their is no penalty if you don't. Kind of like Obama care here on the US.
Where can I buy a kit in France? Are they readily available in gas stations?

EU/Germany are AIDS gloves still required?

Meldrew wrote:

It was the compulsory hi-vis gear for bikers that was dropped

You're right, it was the hi-vz.

I bought some from Ebay. Very cheap. Do check that they are the approved variety.

Search for the ones that Meldrew mentioned.

Dimond wrote:

 Best to start off with fresh piece of mind.  

Some say I always do. A very small piece!!!   

I wouldn't bother with the belt or anything more than a basic tool kit. I've never heard of a belt going that didn't have a ton of miles on it. Same for the rollers. I'd replace them *before* the trip if I was worried. If I was really worried, I'd leave a spare belt, spare tires, spark plugs, etc, with a friend who could ship them overnight to me in a pinch. My scooter isn't a parts warehouse!

I would (and do) carry a tire repair kit, basic tools (enough to take the wheels off as John mentioned), some wire to tie things with, some duct tape, some plastic zip lock bags (in case a part falls off - which, being a Honda, is unlikely), and some spare fuses. Basically things (other than the tire kit) that take pretty much no space. Bulbs might also be good to carry as spares. A credit card and mobile phone will fix anything else, and I usually have plenty of other stuff to take on a trip.

Have a great ride!

jmaslak wrote:

I wouldn't bother with the belt or anything more than a basic tool kit.  I've never heard of a belt going that didn't have a ton of miles on it.  Same for the rollers.  I'd replace them *before* the trip if I was worried.  If I was really worried, I'd leave a spare belt, spare tires, spark plugs, etc, with a friend who could ship them overnight to me in a pinch.  My scooter isn't a parts warehouse!  

I would (and do) carry a tire repair kit, basic tools (enough to take the wheels off as John mentioned), some wire to tie things with, some duct tape, some plastic zip lock bags (in case a part falls off - which, being a Honda, is unlikely), and some spare fuses.  Basically things (other than the tire kit) that take pretty much no space.  Bulbs might also be good to carry as spares.  A credit card and mobile phone will fix anything else, and I usually have plenty of other stuff to take on a trip.

Have a great ride!

+1!

European breakdown insurance is useful.

My bike insurer offers roadside repair and/or full recovery to UK (for me and the bike), free of charge! I'm also have membership of The AA, which offers similar cover for bike and car.

I'm somewhat confused (not unusual) but if you're travelling to the Continent by boat or Channel Tunnel the breathalyser kits can be bought at the Ferry Terminals.

You can buy all the Continental motoring accessories (or clutter) on the ferries, stuff like GB plates, bulb kits, beam deflectors, breathalyser kits etc; or from Halfords, eBay etc.

Small bikers first aid kits can be bought from Hein Gericke, Polo, and Louis in Germany, I have one but I usually pack a more comprehensive Aerostich kit. I replaced all the American brand pills and tablets I wasn't familiar with for UK brand meds. I had a stroke two and a half years ago, and take daily preventative meds so I have to pack a supply of those too.

Drive belt----those who say don't take spare drive belt.....probably have not ever needed one underway, or ridden enough to need one, etc. Dealers regardless of where in the world you are do not stock them. Except:

Korea does have less than 1 hour availability of belts due to commercial use of scooters....not even in Japan.


Delays on trips can be costly.

As for the belt, it doesn't take a ton of space, but, again, why? Has anyone heard of an OEM Honda belt for the Silverwing failing with less than 18,000 miles on it (the recommended max replacement age by Honda; note that they recommend to inspect and replace if out of measurement at 12,000)? I've seen early failures with some of the smaller scoots, but not the Silverwing. I am curious if people really have had them fail early - it would change what I would do if people have. John, have you had one fail early? I contend that if you replace this belt when you're supposed to and use the OEM belt, you won't get stranded by the Silverwing (again, not true for other scoots). But you have a ton more Silverwing miles than me, so I'm curious if you (or anyone else) has had a belt failure before it should have failed on an OEM belt.

As for availability of parts, at least in the Scooter capital of west Denver (okay, maybe not - I imagine scooters are more popular where you don't have ice covered roads for a few months), just one data point: My local dealer (RPM Motorsports in Arvada) had the belt in stock when I last bought one - no ordering was required. I've even had luck with some rather obscure parts calling around to dealers within the Denver area (case in point: that gasket between the windshield and the front nose cone - I was shocked when Sun Motorsports in Thorton had one of those in stock! I consider that a ton more obscure than the belt). They also had a Helix belt every time I asked for one. I've only seen a couple Silverwing around here, so it's not like it is unusually popular (heck, I only found one dealer that actually had a Silverwing in stock, out of 10 dealers or so, when I bought mine; RPM wasn't one of those dealers and wasn't where I bought the scoot).

Again, though, what I do for parts like the belt and tires (I suspect tire failure is a ton more common than belt failure, and I'm picky about my tire manufacturer) - parts that could be hard to get in a small town somewhere - is to leave them with someone I know back home who can next day ship them to me if I need them. On a 3,000 mile trip I think anyone would be wise to schedule things to not have an emergency if there is a day or two delay mid-trip.

One thing that nobody mentioned that I'll add to the list: a tire pressure gauge.

Be warned if no-one's said it already that in the Summer some European countries close for a couple of weeks.
I got caught a few years ago in France with an immobiliser problem on my Piaggio and no dealers open to fix it.

Well let's see now, In my early maxi riding days I used to worry about belt breakages and carried a spare belt for my Helix around with me for years. Along with a new hammer handle to lever belts off and on again, and instructions of how to do it from the Scoot-Tours newsletter. I never needed to do it at home or abroad, and whether I could have done it by the side of a busy road, motorway, at night, in driving rain, or if I could do it at all I've no idea.

With the Silver Wing I'm not going to carry a spare belt around just in case. I'll get it changed at the required Service Intervals and if it does break out on the road here or in Europe, and I'm not hurt when it does I'll use the Emergency Roadside Recovery Services I'm paying for annually. They'll take the scooter to a Honda dealer and they'll replace the belt.

It's got me wondering that with this spare belt that is so essential, do you also pack one of those home made pulley holder tools made from a couple of lengths of wood and a few bolts, technical instructions on how to do a belt change, a variety of socket spanners, and a torque wrench along in your kit. Or do you do a McGyver and fashion the tools out of stuff found in roadside trash cans?

Do you think the average touring motorcyclist takes along a spare chain, spare links, and a chain splitter just in case, no they don't, they might take along some chain lube and that's it.

I'm am in agreement with Meldrew!!!



Thinks ... I must go and lie down in a dark room to recover.      

Total agreement with Meldrew regarding the spare belt foolishness.

But, I do carry all the tools and machinery needed to mine and smelt bauxite ore and the castings necessary to make my own cylinder casings.

I carry the tool required to turn wine into water!

john grinsel wrote:

Dealers regardless of where in the world you are do not stock them.  

I guess in all your miles of worldwide travelling, you've never been to the Honda dealer in Winnipeg. They stock the Silverwing drive belt.

My local Honda main dealer only stocks the basics and everything else has to be ordered, I suspect they will not carry the belt as it is a relatively expensive item to stock for a limited number of customers. I tend to buy by mail order from Lings as things come straight to my door thus saving two journeys to order and collect.

Hey Colin, I'll pay top dollar for that tool.....lol

Wait, you mean water into wine...right?

I have a tool that turns wine into urine.  

Just joined the site so forgive me for dragging up an old post.

There is no shortage of Honda spares in Ireland, when I called to the Honda dealer to get a belt he had same in stock. Its the same for any parts that I need, they are always in stock. Mostly service bits. Have no worries.

When are you coming to Ireland and whats part are you going to tour?